Nebraska insurtech startup Breeze raises $10 million in record-setting Series A round

Omaha-based insurtech company Breeze announced yesterday that it had raised the largest first round of institutional capital ever invested in a Nebraska software startup. The company’s $10 million Series A round will help advance its mission “to protect American families in their most financially vulnerable moments,” according to a press release issued yesterday. The financing…

Omaha-based insurtech company Breeze announced yesterday that it had raised the largest first round of institutional capital ever invested in a Nebraska software startup.

The company’s $10 million Series A round will help advance its mission “to protect American families in their most financially vulnerable moments,” according to a press release issued yesterday.

The financing round was led by Link Ventures, a Boston-based fund that found Breeze through its proprietary sourcing algorithms. Additional investments came from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, M25, Fiat Ventures and Invest Nebraska.

Launched in 2020 by Colin Nabity and Cody Leach, Breeze has built an insurtech platform that makes it easier to apply for and underwrite supplemental insurance products such as income protection and critical illness insurance.

“Basically, what we do is use big data to make the underwriting process easier,” said Nabity, co-founder and CEO. “So you can buy policies completely online without needing to see a doctor or have somebody come out to your house.”

Breeze offers customers a virtual way to quote, apply and bind policies that offer protection in the event of cancer, heart attacks, strokes and other medical conditions that can lead to a loss of income and cause financial trauma.

“In the event of a major diagnosis, we step in and help keep you on your feet,” Nabity said. “It’s your money to do what you want with it.”

Over 25% of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration website. Despite this statistic, the U.S. individual disability insurance market remains very small—something Breeze plans to take full advantage of.

With Series A funding in place, the company plans to grow its core products—disability and critical illness insurance—and add new products, carriers and agents to the platform. The company also plans to build out its software development, customer service, distribution and marketing teams.

Enthusiasm for the company was made clear by investors. 

“Breeze caught our attention given its tremendous web traffic growth,” said Lisa Dolan, Managing Director at Link Ventures, which led the highly successful Series A round. 

“We are thrilled to be part of fueling Breeze to become the category leader in disability insurance,” she added. “The market remains largely untapped, but Breeze can change that quickly with its technology and online platform.”

“Breeze has been hard at work developing solutions that help protect individual’s financial lives, their families and their peace of mind,” said Alex Harris, General Partner at Fiat Ventures. “This is a product that’s been grossly underutilized by Americans, but is a critical one.”

“This record-breaking financing is the largest first round of institutional capital into a Nebraska-based software startup,” said Ben Williamson of Invest Nebraska. “What’s even more impressive is the quality of capital sourced from fintech, insurtech, and industry experts—it’s a massive vote of confidence that high-growth insurtech companies can succeed here in Nebraska.”

With Breeze, people can check their rates with a quick, personalized quote for disability or critical illness insurance and apply for a plan online.

“We founded Breeze to close a glaring coverage gap—specifically, the 51 million working Americans without adequate income protection,” Nabity said. “Historically, products like disability income insurance and critical illness insurance have been overpriced and too difficult to obtain. We’re changing that.”

 

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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